I'm thinking this is all posturing for internal politics by the north
korean leader. However, at this level of rhetoric it's easy to make a
mistake. North korean people have been told they will win and have better lives
if they go to war. North korean leaders, hopefully, know they can't win
because their air force is a flying scrapyard and they don't have enough
fuel to drive across town, and a serious conflict will end the regime, which is
what it absolutely does not want.

No one wants the regime to end (apart from some of the poor souls in
it), China, South Korea and the US will do whatever to keep it together. For all
the drum beating going on, the collapse of North Korea would mean a flood of
millions of refugees into China and South Korea. The US would have to spend
billions to help the humanitarian efforts.

One sign that no one's going to war - a public announcement that they are
going to war. Even crazy leaders (which I don't think NK's are) are
smart enough to know that's a loser.Note to Brit: we've already
spent billions in defending South Korea. Helping some refugees would certainly
be cheaper in the long run, not to mention a morally good thing to help do.

@LDS Liberal: I agree with most of what you said, but one huge motivation for
war is the profiteering repubs make off it, much like Cheney did with Haliburton
in Iraq. The war industry in the US makes huge profits and I would imagine a lot
of repubs are invested heavily in that particular industry.

A war would mean the end of the communist regime, and eventually a unified
Korea. China absolutely does not want this outcome, so they will do everything
in their power to prevent it. They do want the North Koreans to reform their
economy though, because China spends billions subsidizing them. Without Chineses
subsidies north Korea would face immediate collapse.

Ernest T. BassBountiful, UT...one huge motivation for war is the
profiteering repubs make off it, much like Cheney did with Haliburton in Iraq.
The war industry in the US makes huge profits and I would imagine a lot of
repubs are invested heavily in that particular industry.

======

Agreed.

Think about this for a minute...

Republicans wanted a tax cut for everything BUT Defense.Sequesture kicks
in, and 20% across the board spending cuts go into effect for every Federal
Agency, including the DoD.

North Korea does something stupid, and Sequesture stay in effect for every Federal Agency EXCEPT the DoD.

The key is China. It is in China's interests to control the rhetoric and
bellicosity of it's neighbor. So the noise will be tolerated until China
says stop. The South Koreans and the United States need to understand that this
is more internal posturing and be cautious that things don't escalate to
the point where a mistake is made. However, it is in China's interests to
intercede and help keep things from getting out of hand.

I love all these comments. This is one complicated situation, and without a
history of it you are left in the dark. the Forgotten War, ie The Korean War
fought after world war 2 was brutal. We don't want it again. Whatever
you think you know about North Korea you probably dont' know much. What a
crazy situation.